"We obviously talk to everybody, and everybody talks to us," he said. "We have some intelligence to go on that, by early 2014, we're pretty sure there'll be at least one next-generation console on the market," said David Grijns, managing director of Avalanche Studios New York, in an interview with Edge.

Does this mean Avalanche Studios' unannounced game is being developed specifically for the next generation of consoles? "When we say 'next-gen' in the press release, it's really a reference to what we think the market will look like then," he added. "Anyone who says they know what the market is going to look like three years from now is just blowing smoke.

"Whatever happens, we feel very confident that we'll be ready for it," Grijns added.

Regardless of this belief in better technology, Grijns emphasised that the industry doesn't need to focus on better visuals. "I don't think the industry needs better-looking games: I think it needs better games," he said.

"What is more interesting is the ways that developers and publishers can find new ways of designing games - and more interesting gameplay and distribution models - rather than better-looking games."